Have you ever gone outside and taken a big breath of fresh air? It seems to be calming when you do it. However, if you have reduced lung capacity, I’m not sure that you’ll get the same effect.
I’ve done lung capacity testing on people (called spirometry) and the results will give you the persons “lung age”. That’s the calculated age of the lungs based upon criteria that is calculated by the computer.
If you’ve not had a spirometry test performed before, let me explain. Your nose is pinched with plastic piece to prevent air from coming out the nose. You are then asked to exhale as hard as you can into a tube connected to a computer. After several attempts, your lung capacity is calculated and “lun age” determined.
I’ve seen individuals that are 30 with a lung age of a 60 year old and vice versa. Poor lung capacity is mainly due to lifestyle (like smokers) or chronic lung illness.
A new study published in the August issue of Chest compared the lungs of smokers and those with diabetes. The researchers, from the Netherlands, found that those with diabetes have a significantly significant restrictive pattern of lung impairment – closely resembling that of a smoker. They also found that those with Type II diabetes had a more pronounced change than those with Type I.
However, it is my opinion that like smoking, the lung capacity of diabetics can be improved by lifestyle changes. So, smokers and diabetics unite! Stop those bad habits.